Apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers in a travelling-wave loom

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers in the shed of a travelling-wave loom, comprising a closed guideway within which there is hidden a chain conveyor propelling the weft thread carriers both within the shed and outside the shed along the side walls of this guideway. Propelling of the carriers outside the shed is effected by retainers held in pins interconnecting adjacent links of the chain, while propelling of the carriers within the shed is effected by rollers mounted in the same links as the abovementioned retainers. The apparatus is of a simple structure and ensures reliable propelling of the weft thread carriers within the shed.

United States Patent 1 Onikov et al.

[ APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING WEF T THREAD CARRIERS IN A TRAVELLING-WAVELOOM [76] Inventors: Eduard Arshakovich Onikov, ulitsa Panferova, S,korpus 2. kv. 106; Alexandr Alexandrovich Zabotin, Profsojuznaya ulitsa,96, kv. 85; Valeryan Petrovich Lileev, ulitsa Nagornaya, 46/48, korpus20, kv. 2; Zinovy Yakovlevich Rutkevich, Medvedkovo, 8 kvartal, korpusl8, kv. 21'; Boris Alexandrovich Sakharov, ulitsa Krzhizhanovskogo24/35, korpus 6, kv. 404; Roman Anatolievich German, ulitsaDavydkouskaya, 30, kv. 50, all of Moscow, USSR.

[22] Filed: June 14, 1973 211 Appl. No.: 370,055

[52] U.S. Cl. 139/12 [51] Int. CL D03D 47/26 -[58] Field of Search139/1l,12,13, 15,16

[ 1 Sept. 30, 1975 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,947l/l939 Valentine 139/12 3,729,029 4/1973 Zabrodsky et al. 139/12 PrimaryE.\'aminerHenry S. Jaudon Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Waters, Schwartz &Nissen [5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers inthe shed of a travelling-wave loom, comprising a closed guideway withinwhich there is hidden a chain conveyor propelling the weft threadcarriers both within the shed and outside the. shed along the side wallsof this guideway.

Propelling of the carriers outside the shed is effected by retainersheld in pins interconnecting adjacent links of the chain, whilepropelling of the carriers within the shed is effected by rollersmounted in the same links as the abovementioned retainers.

The apparatus is of a simple structure and ensures reliable propellingof the weft thread carriers within the shed. t

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 o fs3,908,706

Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 2 of 3 3,908,706

APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING THREAD CARRIERS IN A TRAVELLING-WAVE LOOM Theinvention relates to travelling-wave looms and more particularly itrelates to apparatus'for propelling weft thread carriers in the shed ofsuch looms.

At present, there is known an appartus for propelling weft threadcarriers in the shed of travelling-wave looms (see, for example, FrenchPat. No. 1,269,239). This known apparatus includes a closed chainconveyor carrying a plurality of carriages propelling the weft threadcarriers. The carriages move along a guideway and are provided withrollers cooperating with other rollers supported by the weft threadcarriers.

The rollers mounted on the carriages are operated by gears supported bythe latter and meshing with a stationary toothed rack extending parallelto the guideway of the carriages. The weft thread carrier is suspendedon an additional guideway made up'of individual plates. The lowerportions of the plates are of a circular shape, these portions beingreceived within a coupling arranged on the weft thread carrier. The weftthread carriers being suspended from the guideway, they are kept inbalance by means of additional rollers" carried 'thereby and movingalong a support surface extending parallel to the guideway' of thecarriage.

Thus in the known apparatus propelling of the weft thread carriers iseffected with the help of a toothed the shed, they enter the narrowingtunnel and are lowered upon their respective propelling links. At thisstage the retainers project from the propelling links to move thecarriers outside the shed formed by the warp threads. I

As the carriers are propelled further on by the conveyor, they enter thecurved portion of the latter, wherein the deflectors press the carriersfrom above, forcing them to contact the propelling links and thusensuring stable positioning of the carriers. Upon having passed thecurved portion, the carriers are'released by the deflectors, whereafterthey are propelled by their respective propelling links toward the othercurved portion. At this curved portion the carriers are pressed to theirrespective propelling links by the device winding the weft thread ontothe spool of the weft thread carrier.

It can be seen from the abovedescription that the known apparatus of thelast-described type is also of relatively complicated structure, sincefor normal travel of the carriers along the curved portions it is nec-.

rack extending parallel to three different guideways,

essary to have means for pressing the carriers to the links of thechain, whereas for propelling the cairiers in the shed of atravelling-wave loom, which is of a simple structure and provides forreliable travel of the weft thread carriers along both the straight andthe curved I conveyor. portions, without any auxiliary carrier guid- Thepropelling links are provided with rollers-acting through a protectivecloth upon the roller of a weft' one of the arcuately curved portions ofthe chain conveyor is associated with deflectors pressing the weftthread carriers against the propelling links. The other arcuately curvedportion is associated with an apparatus which winds weft. thread ontothe spools of the carriers.

Mounted adjacent the shed, at the inlet and outlet thereof, arenarrowing tunnels for lowering the Weft thread carriers and pressingthem to the propelling links.

There is provided in the bottom portion of each weft thread carrier alongitudinal groove adapted to receive a propelling link, as'the carrieris moved outside the shed. To ensure stablepositioning'of the carrier ona propelling link, the carrier may be provided witha spring-set memberprojecting into the groove for cooperation with the side surface of thepropelling link.

In operation, the chain conveyor propelsthe weft thread carriers in'theshed, the carriers being somewhat raised above the propelling links. Asthe carriers leave ing means, and which obviates to raise the carriersin the shed.

These and other objects are attained in the inventive apparatus forpropelling weft thread carriers in the shed of a travelling-wave loom,which comprises a closed guideway having straight portions and curvedportions, there being mounted for motion within the guideway an endlesschain conveyor made up of a plurality of links interconnected by pins,at least every second one of the links carrying a retainer movable in avertical plane and adapted to enter, while outside the which are mountedin the pins of the chain, and which are adapted to enter the openings inthe carriers, arranged coaxially with the axis of the spools.

-The carriers bearing upon the guideway and the chain conveyor beingpositioned below the top plane of this guideway, it is possible toincrease-the width of the carrier supporting surfaces along the straightand curved portions; In this way additional means become redundant fordirecting the carriers in'respect of the chains links. Furthermore, itis no longer necessary to raise the carriers while moving through theshed, since in the proposed apparatus the warp threads would not becontacted by the conveyor, since they run above the 7 top plane of theside walls of the stationary guideway,

on the protective cloth along which the carriers travel, wherebybreakage of the warp threads is positively prevented.

The retainer being mounted in the pin interconnecting the adjacent linksof the chain, it has become possible to simplify the structure of thelinks and to secure a reliable orientation of the travelling carriers,at the same time effecting the winding of the weft threads onto thespools of the carriers while the latter move along the curved portions.The last-mentioned feature enables to reduce considerably the overalllength of the chain conveyor.

Besides, the opening in the carrier, adapted to receive theabovementioned retainer, being coaxial with the the spool, the latterbecomes coaxial with the means winding the weft thread thereupon, whichrules out the eventuality of these means being broken in operation.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the retainerhas the form of a U-shaped fork, while the opening in the carrier forthe retainer is in the form of a pair of passages disposed on both sidesof the spool axis, these passages being adapted to receive therein therespective prongs of this fork, whereby rotation of the carrier relativeto the retainer is prevented.

The invention is further characterized in that the pin wherein theretainer is mounted is in the form ofa bush rigidly attached to the linkof the chain conveyor, carrying the abovementioned supporting memberwith the roller.

The pin interconnecting the links of the chain being of theabovedescribed structure, it has become possible to reduce the length ofeach link and, therefore, to reduce the radius of curvature of thecurved portions of the conveyor, and to improve the smoothness of thetravel of the chain. Moreover, this enables to ensure a permanentposition of the carriers in respect of the links of the chain and toeliminate vibration of the carriers together with the respective chainlinks as the carriers pass from the straight portion of the guidewayonto the curved one.

The invention is also characterized in that the side walls of theguideway have on the internal sides thereof two additional guidingsurfaces disposed below the chain conveyor, preferably over the entirelength of the side walls, one of these guiding surfaces being adapted todisplace the retainer in a vertical plane, while the other one isadapted to lower the supporting member with the roller below the sidewalls of the guideway as the roller is approaching the selvage of theprotective cloth, and thereafter to raise this same roller upon itshaving passed this selvage. of the protective cloth.

The provision of these two additional guiding surfaces, extending theentire length of the chain conveyor, ensures dependable retention ofboth the retainer and the roller in desired positions, and that withoutany additional means.

The roller of the conveyor being lowered prior to engaging theprotective cloth, it permits eliminating unwanted wear and tear of theselvage of this cloth, as well as any jerking of the carrier in thelongitudinal direction as the carrier is entering and leaving theweaving. zone.

The invention is further characterized in that the additional guidingsurfaces may be made in the form of projections, while the bottomportions of the retainer and of the supporting member of the roller mayhave recesses adapted to'receive these projections therein.

The invention is still further characterized in that the chain conveyoris driven by U-shaped teeth of a rotary disc engaging the pins of theconveyor, and the disc is mounted at one of the curved portions of theguideway to provide forengagement of the U-shaped teeth with theconveyor. The side wall of the guideway, which is the internal one atthis curved portion, has a height smaller than the height thereof alongthe straight portions. To keep the carriers in balance along this curvedportion of the guideway, the rotary disc is provided, above the U-shapedteeth thereof, with a supporting surface arranged as a continuation ofthe straight side wall of the guideway.

It can be seen that the herein disclosed apparatus for propelling weftthread carriers is of a simple structure requires minimal maintenance,eliminates the causes of eventual malfunctioning, such as when thecarriers enter and leave the weaving zone, and improves the stability ofthe weft thread carriers along the curved portions of the conveyor. Allthis provides for stepping up the productivity of the loom and minimizesthe risk of faulty operation.

The invention will be further described in connection with a particular,preferred illustrative apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers inthe shed of a travelling-wave loom, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partly broken away in the area of a rotary disc,of an apparatus for propelling Weft thread carriers, together with thesecarriers;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line II-II of FIG. 1, also showing aguiding surface for cooperation with a retainer;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line IVIV of FIG. I; and

FIG. 5 shows one of the embodiments of the retainer.

Referring now to the appended drawings, the apparatus for propellingweft thread carriers in the shed of a travelling-wave loom comprises aclosed guideway 1 (FIG. 1) arranged in a horizontal plane and havingstraight portions A and B and arcuately curved portions C and D, theguideway housing therein an endless chain conveyor 2.

The guideway 1 and the chain conveyor 2 are disposed so that the curvedportions C and D of the guide way are located at the opposite lateralsides of the associated loom, the straight portion B is located above analready woven cloth E, and the portion A underlies; warp threads 3forming the shed.

The chain conveyor is a commonly known link-androller chain includinginterconnected links 4 and 5.

The links 5 are connecting links, each of them including two plates 6(FIG. 2) spaced so as to accommodate therebetween sleeves 7 and 8 andhorizontal rollers 9 and 10, respectively.

The links 4 are intended to propel weft thread carriers 11 and includeeach two plates 12 overlapping exteriorly the plates 6. The links 4 and5 have equal length; and are interconnected bypins 13 and 14, the links4 being spaced apartin the chain so as to correspond to the capacity ofthe associated loom and to the required spacing of the weft threadcarriers, which means that each adjacent pair of the links 4 may haveinterposed therebetween either one or two or three connecting links 5.

The guideway 1 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is U-shaped in its cross-section and isrigidly attached to a framework of the loom. The straight portion A ofthe guideway l underlying, as it has been already stated, the warpthreads 3 and contacting them, the top plane of the guideway, as well asthe bottom plane of the carriers moving through the shed should beparallel to the warp threads forming the lower plane of the shed.Therefore, the carriers 11 are triangular in cross-section, while thevertical side walls 16 and 17 of the guideway l are of differentheights. The side wall 16 that forms the internal side of the guideway 1has a height 'h which is greater than the height h, of the wall 17 thatforms the external side of the guideway l.

The conveyor 2 is hidden within the guideway 1 so that the carriers 11bear upon the side walls 16 and 17 v of the guideway throughout thelength of this guideway. To retain the conveyor 2 at a permanent levelwithin the guideway 1, grooves 18 are cut in the internal sides of thewalls 16 and 17, in which grooves the horizontal rollers 9 and 10 of thepins 13 and 14 travel in operation.

To effect propelling of the carriers 11, the links 4 of the conveyor areeach provided with a retainer 19 FIG.

I 2 movable in avertical plane and adapted to propel the respectivecarrier along the guideway 1 outside the shed, and each with asupporting member 20 mounting a vertical roller 21 adapted to propel therespective carrier 11 in the shed.

The carriers 11 (FIG. 5), carrying spools 22 with a supply of the weft,thread are propelled outside the shed by the respective retainers 19made in the form of flat studs whose upper end portions are receivablein openings 23 provided in the carriers 11, each opening 23 beingcoaxial with the axis 24 of the respective spool 22.

Alternatively, the upper portions of the retainers 19 (FIGS. 3 and 4)may be made in the form ofa U-shaped fork 25, the openings 23 of thecarriers 11 having in this case the form of a pair of passages 26positioned on both sides of the axis 24 of the spool 22, the passagesbe'ing adapted to receive therein respective prongs 27 of the fork toprevent-rotation of the carriers in respect of the retainers.

For the carriers 11 (FIG. 2) to be propelledthrough the shed by therollers 21 on the links 4, there is made a recess 28 in the lowerportion of the body of each carrier, adapted to receive therein theserollers 21. It is possible, in order to reduce the wear of the body ofeach carrier 11 and to ensure reliable propelling through the shed, tomount another roller (not shown) in thisrecess 28 of the carrier, orelse to arrange in this recess 28 an insert 29 made of a wear-resistantmaterial, e.g. hardened steel. To prevent dusting of the chain conveyor2, as well as breakages of the warp threads 3, there is a protectivecloth 30 positioned under these threads on the guideway 1.

To reduce the length of the links 4 and 5 and to ensure dependable andproper orientation of the carriers 1 1 being propelled, each retainer 19is positioned in the pin 14 interconnecting the links 4 and 5, this pin14 having the form of a bush secured in the plates 12 of the link 4. a

The side walls 16 and 17 of the guideway 1 are provided on theirinternal sides, respectively, with additional guiding surfaces 31 and32. These surfaces are displaced in height relative to each other, oneof them, viz. the surface 31, guiding the movement of or displace theretainers 19 in a vertical plane, while the other guiding surface 32 ismeant to lower the rollers 21 below the side walls 16 and 17 as therollers approach the selvage of the protective cloth 30, and then toraise the rollers 21 upon their having passed this selvage of theprotective cloth 30. These two additional guiding surface 31 and 32 aremade in the form of projections, whereas the bottom portions,respectively, of the retainers 19 and of the supporting members 20 ofthe rollers 21 have respectiverecesses 33 (FIG. 5) and 34 adapted toreceive these projections.

Alternatively, the guiding surfaces 31 and 32 may be in the form ofrecesses (not shown in the drawings) provided in the side walls 16 and17 of the guideway 1, and in this case the bottom portions of theretainers 19 and of the supporting members 20 have projections adaptedto be received in these'recesses.

With the retainers 19 (FIG. 2) propelling the carriers 11 along theguideway 1 outside the shed, and the rollers 21 propelling the carriersthrough the shed, it is essential that the retainers 19 be lowered atthe moment when the carriers encounterrthe protective cloth 30, andclear completely the holes 23 of the respective carriers. To attainthis, a portion F of the guiding surface 31 at the area of location ofthe protective cloth 3 0'is lowered by a distance h relative to the restof this guiding surface 31.

To protect the selvage of the protective cloth 30 from The chainconveyor 2 (FIG. 1) is driven within the guideway 1 by a rotary disc 36'mounted at the curved portion D. The rotary disc 36 has U-shaped teeth37 engaging the pins 13 interconnecting the links 4 and 5 of theconveyor 2, in which way the driving of the con veyor is effected. Forthe U-shaped teeth 37 to be able to enter the guideway 1 and to engagethe pins of the chain to drive the latter, the internal side wall 16 ofthe guideway within one curved portion, D, has a height that is smallerthan the earlier mentioned height hot this same side wall 16 along thestraight portions A and B and along the other curved portion, C.

Furthermore, to keep the carriers 11 in balance, the disc 36 is providedwith a supporting surface 38 (FIG. 4) in the form of a shoulder.Thissurface 38 is arranged above its U-shaped teeth 37 and forms acontinuation of the side wall 16 of the straight portions A and B, sothat their respective top planes are at the same level. The disc 36receives rotation from the main shaft of the loom (not shown), wherebythe motion of the conveyor 2 is timed with the operation of the othermechanisms of the loom.

To ensure still more reliable propelling of the carriers in the shed bythe roller 21, there is a strip 39 arranged above the protective cloth30 against which strip the carriers 11 are urged as they are propelledby the respective rollers 21.

The weft thread carriers are propelled in the inventive apparatus asfollows. When the drive of the loom (not shown) is energized, itsrotation is transmitted to the disc 36. The disc 36 (FIG. 1) startsrotating, its U- shaped teeth 37 engaging the pins 13 of the links ofthe chain and thus driving the latter. The chain conveyor 2 being hiddenwithin the guideway l, the carriers 11 are propelled by the retainers(FIG. 2) along the side walls 16 and 17 of this guideway. The chainconveyor 2 is retained at a permanent level within the guideway 1because the horizontal rollers 9 and travel within the grooves 18. Therespective retainer 19 is in its raised position and enters the opening23 of the respective carrier, while the roller 21 is also in its raisedposition and enters the recess 28 (it should be remembered that in orderto propel the carriers outside the shed it makes no difference whetherthe respective roller 21 enters the recess 28 of the carrier or not,since the roller plays absolutely no part in the propelling of thecarrier outside the shed).

As a carrier 11 approaches the selvage of the protective cloth 30, thesupporting member 20 of the roller 21, which is guided by the surface32, drops into the recess 35 of this surface, whereby the roller 21passes below this selvage, whereafter it is lifted once agian and entersthe recess 28 of the carrier, engaging its insert 29 through theprotective cloth 30. At the same moment the retainer 19 which is guidedby the guiding surface 31 passes onto the lowered portion F thereof andleaves the opening 23 of the carrier, dropping below the selvage of thecloth 30. Thus, as each carrier enters the shed, there takes place achangeover of its propelling means, i.e. the retainer 19 is replaced bythe roller 21.

it should be underlined that this changeover of the propelling meanstakes place without the carriers 11 leaving for any instance, howeverbrief, the guideway 1 along which these carriers are propelled, and inthe shed the carriers travel over the warp threads 3 overlying theprotective cloth under which the guideway 1 lies.

After each carrier 1 1 has passed the zone of the warp threads 3 andtheprotective cloth 30, the retainer 19 is raised to enter the opening 23in the carrier. Thereafter the carrier 11 is propelled along theguideway l by this retainer 19 up to the point where the carrierreenters the zone of the warp threads.

While passing the portion D, the carriers 11 slide along the side wall17 of the guideway 1 and are supported by the surface 38 of the disc 36.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers across the warp andthrough successive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom,comprising, in combination: a closed guideway including straightportions, curved portions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor madeup of a plurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed withinsaid guideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers,each having a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin said guideway so that said carriers bear with their bottomsurfaces upon said side walls; means for driving said conveyor; at leastevery second one of said pins, that interconnects the links, being madein the form of a bush with a retainer movable therein, for propelling bythis retainer said carriers outside said sheds along said side walls,and with a supporting member carrying thereon a vertically arrangedroller for propelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening providedin each of said carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of saidspool, for receiving therein said retainers as said carriers arepropelled outside said sheds; a protective cloth having a selvageportion and disposed under said sheds on said guideway adjacent to andacross said warp, said rollers being adapted to engage said carriersthrough said cloth as said carriers are propelled within saidsheds'across said warp.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said pins are made inthe form of bushes rigidly secured in said links, for carrying saidsupporting members.

3. An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers across the warp andthrough successive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom,comprising, in combination: a closed guideway including straightportions, curved portions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor madeup of a plurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed withinsaid guideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers,each having a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin said guideway so that said carriers bear upon said side walls;means for driving said conveyor; at least every second one of said linksbeing provided with a retainer for propelling respective ones of saidcarriers outside said sheds, along said side walls, and with asupporting member carrying thereon a vertically arranged roller forpropelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening provided in each ofsaid carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of said spool, forreceiving therein said retainers as said carriers are propelled outsidesaid sheds; a protective cloth having a selvage portion and arranged onsaid guideway adjacent to and across said warp, said rollers beingadapted to engage said carriers through said cloth as said carriers arepropelled in said sheds across said warp, wherein said retainers aremade in the form of a U-shaped fork having two prongs, while saidopenings in said carriers have the form of a pair of passages on bothsides of the axis of rotation of said spool, said passages being adaptedto receive therein said prongs to prevent rotation of said carriersrelative to said retainers.

4. An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers across the warp andthrough successive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom,comprising, in combination: a closed guideway including straightportions, curved portions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor madeup of a plurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed withinsaid guideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers,each having a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin ,said guideway so that said carriers bear upon said side walls;means for driving said conveyor; at least every second of said linksbeing provided with a retainer for propelling respective ones of saidcarriers outside said sheds, along said side walls, and with asupporting member carrying thereon a vertically arranged roller forpropelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening provided in each ofsaid carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of said spool, forreceiving therein said retainers as said carriers are propelled outsidesaid sheds; a protective cloth having a selvage portion and arranged onsaid guideway adjacent to and across said warp, said rollers beingadapted to engage said carriers through said cloth as said carriers arepropelled in said sheds across said warp, wherein said side walls areprovided on respective internal sides of said guideway with twoadditional guiding surfaces below said conveyor, one of said surfacesbeing adapted to displace said retainers in a vertical plane and theother of said surfaces being adapted to effect lowering of saidsupporting members below said side walls of the guideway as said rollersapproach said selvage portion, and subsequently to effect raising ofsaid supporting members upon said rollers having passed below saidselvage portion.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said additional guidingsurfaces are made in the form of projections, said retainers and saidsupporting members having recesses in their respective bottom portions,for receiving therein said projections.

6. An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers across the warp andthrough successive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom,comprising, in combination; a closed guideway including straightportions, curved portions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor madeup of a plurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed withinsaid guideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers,each having a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin said guideway so that said carriers bear upon said side walls;means for driving said conveyor; at least every second one of said linksbeing provided with a retainer for propelling respective ones of saidcarriers outside said sheds, along said side walls, and with asupporting member carrying thereon a vertically arranged roller forpropelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening provided in each ofsaid carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of said spool, forreceiving therein said retainers as said carriers are propelled outsidesaid sheds; a protective cloth having a selvage portion and arranged onsaid guideway adjacent to and across said warp, said rollers beingadapted to engage said carriers through said cloth as said carriers arepropelled in said sheds across said warp, wherein said means for drivingthe conveyor includes a rotary disc mounted at one of said curvedportions of the guideway, and having U-shaped teeth engaging said pinsof the conveyor links for driving said conveyor, the engagement beingmade possible by one of said side walls of the guideway, which is anintemai wall at said curved portions having a height smaller than theheight of the same side wall along said straight portions, said discbeing provided above said teeth with a supporting surface serving as acontinuation of said internal side wall at said straight portionsthereof, whereby said carriers are kept in balance as they are propelledalong said curved portions.

1. An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers across the warp andthrough successive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom,comprising, in combination: a closed guideway including straightportions, curved portions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor madeup of a plurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed withinsaid guideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers,each having a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin said guideway so that said carriers bear with their bottomsurfaces upon said side walls; means for driving said conveyor; at leastevery second one of said pins, that interconnects the links, being madein the form of a bush with a retainer movable therein, for propelling bythis retainer said carriers outside said sheds along said side walls,and with a supporting member carrying thereon a vertically arrangedroller for propelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening providedin each of said carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of saidspool, for receiving therein said retainers as said carriers arepropelled outside said sheds; a protective cloth having a selvageportion and disposed under said sheds on said guideway adjacent to andacross said warp, said rollers being adapted to engage said carriersthrough said cloth as said carriers are propelled within said shedsacross said warp.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein saidpins are made in the form of bushes rigidly secured in said links, forcarrying said supporting members.
 3. An apparatus for propelling weftthread carriers across the warp and through successive travelling shedsof a travelling-wave loom, comprising, in combination: a closed guidewayincluding straight portions, curved portions and side walls; an endlesschain conveyor made up of a plurality of links and of interconnectingpins, disposed within said guideway for propelling therealong aplurality of said carriers, each having a spool rotatable about an axis;said conveyor being hidden within said guideway so that said carriersbear upon said side walls; means for driving said conveyor; at leastevery second one of said links being provided with a retainer forpropelling respective ones of said carriers outside said sheds, alongsaid side walls, and with a supporting member carrying thereon avertically arranged roller for propelling said carriers in said sheds;an opening provided in each of said carriers coaxially with the axis ofrotation of said spool, for receiving therein said retainers as saidcarriers are propelled outside said sheds; a protective cloth having aselvage portion and arranged on said guideway adjacent to and acrosssaid warp, said rollers being adapted to engage said carriers throughsaid cloth as said carriers are propelled in said sheds across saidwarp, wherein said retainers are made in the form of a U-shaped forkhaving two prongs, while said openings in said carriers have the form ofa pair of passages on both sides of the axis of rotation of said spool,said passages being adapted to receive therein said prongs to preventrotation of said carriers relative to said retainers.
 4. An apparatusfor propelling weft thread carriers across the warp and throughsuccessive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom, comprising, incombination: a closed guideway including straight portions, curvedportions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor made up of aplurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed within saidguideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers, eachhaving a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin said guideway so that said carriers bear upon said side walls;means for driving said conveyor; at least every second of said linksbeing provided with a retainer for propelling respective ones of saidcarriers outside said sheds, along said side walls, and with asupporting member carrying thereon a vertically arranged roller forpropelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening provided in each ofsaid carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of said spool, forreceiving therein said retainers as said carriers are propelled outsidesaid sheds; a protective cloth having a selvage portion and arranged onsaid guideway adjacent to and across said warp, said rollers beingadapted to engage said carriers through said cloth as said carriers arepropelled in said sheds across said warp, wherein said side walls areprovided on respective internal sides of said guideway with twoadditional guiding surfaces below said conveyor, one of said surfacesbeing adapted to displace said retainers in a vertical plane and theother of said surfaces being adapted to effect lowering of saidsupporting members below said side walls of the guideway as said rollersapproach said selvage portion, and subsequently to effect raising ofsaid supporting members upon said rollers having passed below saidselvage portion.
 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein saidadditional guiding surfaces are made in the form of projections, saidretainers and said supporting members having recesses in theirrespective bottom portions, for receiving therein said projections. 6.An apparatus for propelling weft thread carriers across the warp andthrough successive travelling sheds of a travelling-wave loom,comprising, in combination; a closed guideway including straightportions, curved portions and side walls; an endless chain conveyor madeup of a plurality of links and of interconnecting pins, disposed withinsaid guideway for propelling therealong a plurality of said carriers,each having a spool rotatable about an axis; said conveyor being hiddenwithin said guideway so that said carriers bear upon said side walls;means for driving said conveyor; at least every second one of said linksbeing provided with a retainer for propelling respective ones of saidcarriers outside said sheds, along said side walls, and with asupporting member carrying thereon a vertically arranged roller forpropelling said carriers in said sheds; an opening provided in each ofsaid carriers coaxially with the axis of rotation of said spool, forreceiving therein said retainers as said carriers are propelled outsidesaid sheds; a protective cloth having a selvage portion and arranged onsaid guideway adjacent to and across said warp, said rollers beingadapted to engage said carriers through said cloth as said carriers arepropelled in said sheds across said warp, wherein said means for drivingthe conveyor includes a rotary disc mounted at one of said curvedportions of the guideway, and having U-shaped teeth engaging said pinsof the conveyor links for driving said conveyor, the engagement beingmade possible by one of said side walls of the guideway, which is aninternal wall at said curved portions having a height smaller than theheight of the same side wall along said straight portions, said discbeing provided above said teeth with a supporting surface serving as acontinuation of said internal side wall at said straight portionsthereof, whereby said carriers are kept in balance as they are propelledalong said curved portions.